U.S. Navy Wants To Have Torpedoes That Intercept Incoming Torpedoes

A Nimitz-class aircraft carrier fires a CAT interceptor during a test. USN

Warzone/The Drive: U.S. Navy Looking To Arm Its Subs With Tiny Torpedoes That Intercept Incoming Torpedoes

The compact weapons could give subs substantially greater magazine depth, a hard-kill anti-torpedo countermeasure, and more.

Tucked away in its most recent budget proposal, the U.S. Navy says that it is interested in giving its submarines the ability to launch small torpedoes. These weapons could offer added offensive firepower, as well as an all-new anti-torpedo defense interceptor capability. The mini-torpedos use a common body and future variants might also arm unmanned ships or submarines, as well as flying drones, act as naval mines, and more.

The Navy’s budget request for the 2020 Fiscal Year, which came out in February 2019, asks for more than $60 million to support the continued development of the AN/BYG-1 Submarine Payload Control System. Virtually all of the service’s existing submarines use variants of this software-driven combat control architecture to launch weapons and other payloads, via combinations of torpedo tubes, vertical launch systems, or countermeasures launchers, depending on the particular design. The Navy’s future Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines and Block IV and V Virginia-class attack boats, as well as Australia’s future Attack-class, will also use versions of this system.

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WNU Editor: The U.S. Navy has high hopes that this will work.